Dreamer
by Courtness
Summary: Three years post-game, Zack finds that he survived Shin-Ra's attack, and now all he can seem to think of is Cloud... (Yaoi; ZackxCloud)
1. Awaken

**Dreamer**

. . .

**A/N:** Wow, I can't believe I actually managed to churn out a chapter of this. It actually started out as a Zack/Tifa fic, believe it or not, which I forgot about, remembered, and then I decided to turn it into some squishy Zack/Cloud shounen-ai. Of course, that is still to come. ; This thing is old, old old, so some of the beginning stuff might be pretty bad. Oh, and I could not think of a name, so I just picked some word to stay with my trend of single-word fic titles. XD Anyways, enjoy. 

. . . 

**1:** Awaken 

. . .

_The rumbling of the truck on bumpy roads tossed him back and forth quite a bit, but the young soldier cared not. It was far more important to make sure that his companion was all right. As if him breaking the unnecessary silence would make everything better, he began to ramble as he always did. After all, one was sort of forced to speak to themselves when in the presence of **Cloud Strife**. "You know what I'm gonna do after this is all over?" he started, peering cautiously over at the pokey-headed one, disregarding the fact that there was pretty much no way Cloud was hearing a word of what he said. "I'll be a mercenary." He did his best to sound defiant, deep down feeling a bit embarrassed to have such an immature sounding goal. Then again, wouldn't you be a little self-conscious when you spoke and no one answered? As if an answer could be given..._  
  
. . .   
  
_Dragging his limp, almost lifeless body with him across the dirt path, only a few solitary strands of grass as consolation here and there, the gurgling sounds from his friend seemed to be enough to keep him going. As long as he knew there was a chance that they could both survive this, well… he had to keep moving. "Ugh," the porcupine groaned slightly, rubbing the sweat off of his forehead with the back of one gloved hand. "C'mon, Cloud… almost there."   
  
And then came the sight to behold. Upon the cliff, with a perfect view of their salvation. They would get themselves cleaned up, back on their feet, and then they'd be off… severed from the chains of ShinRa forever, if all went well. And who knows? They could even travel together. Zack smiled softly at the thought, but it didn't last for long when he heard approaching footsteps nearing ever closer.  
  
Jumping to attention, he grabbed his dear Buster Sword from the sheath at his back and raced back towards the soldiers, tearing through them like a knife through butter as he felt his blade sear through their flesh, felt the blood splatter upon his face, heard their death-choked cries. He fought with the expertise that only a First Class SOLDIER could, second only to Sephiroth, and recently infused with Mako...   
  
Once that was taken care of he raced back to check on his disabled comrade. "You hangin' in there, buddy? I wouldn't have wanted this to be all for nothing. Look, it's Midgar…"   
  
And then… nothing. Darkness._   
  
. . .  
  
And then it was as if he had woken from a dream, one viewed over and over again for eternity until just then. Was it a dream? With that last memory, the most recent thing he could recall, fresh in his mind, he went about trying to figure out just where he was. A headache was present, but a trivial one; the type that is probably only there to nitpick in the back of your mind. He was a bit groggy as well, but that didn't matter at the moment. It was more important for him to figure out what was going on.  
  
First observation to be made was that he was in a bed; a rather nice one as well, with clean, fresh white sheets that were a bit cold at the moment. He assumed it was morning, even if there were no windows in the room that could tell him so. He was in a house that was particularly small; the walls were beginning to decay slightly and the roof seemed too low, almost enough to be uncomfortable, especially for someone that was of his stature. Looking as if it was built of wood, that seemed strange to the black-haired one; they tended to not make houses out of wood anymore… it was speculated to not be strong enough. _So it must be old…_   
  
Shivering slightly, he gripped the sheets that covered him with both hands and drew them up, wrapping them around his shoulders in the hope of generating some warmth. Mako eyes blinked as he realized that all he wore were a pair of boxers. Great, just one more thing to wonder about. Maybe all this wondering would help pass the time.   
  
Looking around for any clothing that might belong to him, his brow furrowed when he discovered that there were none. Well, he wasn't leaving in just boxers… it was most likely freezing outside. And so he'd have to wait for someone to come and find him; and he sure hoped it was someone with answers because he was in some _serious_ need of them. But who knew how long **that** might take? He could very well be in for a long day.   
  
Seeing that the bed was pushed up against the wall, he fell back to lean against it, sighing softly. His muscles ached, as if they hadn't been used in a while, and he was almost compelled to get up and walk around to loosen them up. But the prospect of welcoming himself to the cold was what kept him as snug as he could be in bed. Scratching at his head a bit, he yawned slightly and then lifted dual hands to attempt to get some of the grogginess out of his system by rubbing enthusiastically at his eyes.  
  
It didn't help too much.  
  
And then the hunger kicked in; he felt as if he hadn't eaten in _months_. "Urgh… food..." came a plea from the deprived porcupine. Trying to depose of any thoughts having to do with consumption, he hastily shoved them away by filling his mind with others.   
  
Where was Cloud now? That was one of his biggest concerns. He had done all he could to save him, and just hoped his efforts had not been for nothing. He longed to see ol' spikey-head again; after all, the two of them had been the best of buddies, despite the drastic difference in rank. Zack had been First Class, Cloud just a mere soldier. He had always hoped that such a relationship could have blossomed into something more, for his feelings for the younger boy had warped into something beyond friendship soon after he had met him. Unfortunately, Cloud himself hadn't responded to any hints at all...   
  
But thoughts of ShinRa brought back other not-so-fond memories---like the experiments.   
  
Locked in the basement of that mansion for months, in a tube, no less, and the torture… Zack shivered slightly as the thought came that they would probably still be there, had he not managed to escape. Bad times, those were, even if most of it was spent unconscious. However, Mako did have its advantages. A big plus was that it served as a sort of 'natural' painkiller. If injured, it filled its host with a mock adrenaline that blocked out the pain - one of the reasons that it was hard to kill those that had Mako in their veins.  
  
One of the reasons he was still alive.  
  
He was considering going back to sleep once again when the door opening brought him to attention. In walked two people, one talking to the other as they stepped in. "It's best to check on him every day, you know. Never know when he might wake---"   
  
The person stopped once he saw that Zack was indeed very much awake. His eyes widened slightly. "Y-you're awake," he declared the obvious.   
  
Zack grumbled slightly. "What's so amazing about that?" he asked. The one man looked to the other with an expression that made Zack get the irking feeling that they knew something he didn't. Maybe it wasn't just one thing---maybe they knew a **lot** he didn't. Just what was going on here? And so what else could he do but ask? "… what's going on?" he asked slowly, mouth aching a bit as he spoke, for once again the feeling came that he hadn't spoken in a while, and his muscles were no longer used to actions that were usually commonplace.   
  
One man, the younger looking of the two, gave a sigh, exchanging glances with the other stranger before walking towards Zack. "Do you remember anything?"  
  
Zack tilted his head to the side, biting down subconsciously on his lip as he racked his brain, tried to recall. "I remember up to when I was trying to save Cloud…"  
  
The man's face showed some confusion, but it was wiped away by wonderful realization. "Ah… you must have been attacked or something."  
  
Zack nodded, as more bits and pieces of those last memories were fed back to him. "Yeah, we were… and then everything went black. They must've got me." He gritted his teeth in frustration, balling cold, stiff fingers into a fist that he slammed into the wall behind him. He winced at how much they ached, as if he was no longer used to pain. As if… he hadn't felt pain in quite a while. "So…" he continued, looking up at the man that was now standing next to the bed. "…you found me?"  
  
A nod was given. "Yes… you were extremely injured… a normal man would have died."   
  
Zack couldn't help but laugh. "Normal? Well, I'm far from normal…"  
  
The man narrowed his eyes slightly, but asked no questions and made no comments, simply continuing. "You were covered with bullets wounds… there was blood everywhere; you were practically soaked in it."  
  
"Geez…" Zack rubbed at the back of his head, and then made a closer examination of himself. There were no signs of any recent wounds, and this was beginning to worry him. His tone was a bit more urgent as he asked, "And then…?"  
  
"We brought you back here, removed all the bullets and bandaged all the wounds. It was the least we could do… not like we could leave you for dead. And…" His eyes were cast downward, as if he was pondering the best way to phrase his next words. But Zack wouldn't have any of that. Patience was short, especially when he was so hungry for answers.  
  
"And…?" he asked with a grumble, possibly a bit too mean… but hey, if it made the guy pick up the pace a little…  
  
"You've been in a coma since then."  
  
"……." The silence seemed to ring in the air, so resonating that it was like it burned the ears, louder than any true noise could have been. "…what…?" he eventually asked, as if it took all that time to soak in. "A… coma…?" Well, it explained many things, but… a coma? It was hardly tangible. "So I've been here since then. How… long… has it been?" That last question took a lot of guts to ask, considering that was the answer that would count the most.  
  
"Hmm…" The man frowned slightly as he tried to work it all out. "I would have to say… it's been about… three years now."  
  
"Three?!" Zack yelped, hoping dearly that he hadn't heard the man right. But no correction was given; nothing was given. Just these facts. These… unbelievable facts. But why would he lie? And it wasn't as if Zack had anything else to go off of. "Three...."  
  
"Um…" came the voice of the other stranger, who had remained quiet up until then. He might have looked older than the other, but it could not have been by too much.   
  
Zack looked over with hungry eyes, hoping to hear something that would make this all… better. Though that wasn't going to happen…. Things weren't neat and perfect. Not like that. He had learned that a long time ago.  
  
"Did you mention a Cloud?" the stranger asked.  
  
"Mm? Yeah, I was trying to help him when we got attacked." He didn't understand. what the guy was getting to, but he tried to keep his patience for a little longer.  
  
"Was his name Cloud Strife, by any chance?" At that question, the younger man, still standing right by the bed, blinked and looked over his shoulder at his friend as if to accuse him of being clinically insane. "Are you kiddin' me?" he asked with a scoff. "It could never…" He turned back to look at Zack, then asking, a bit uneasily… "Could it?"  
  
"Yeah, that was his name. So…?"   
  
Both seemed perplexed, but neither said anything for quite a while… or maybe it just seemed like a long time to Zack, for he was clawing at the sheets out of frustration. "So…?" he asked between clenched teeth, still trying to maintain that patience that was slipping through his fingers like sand.  
  
"Cloud Strife… he saved the world," said the younger man.  
  
Zack, who had been sitting up in the bed, literally fell over, but was lucky enough not to fall off of the bed entirely, instead just collapsing into a few pillows. He shot up into a sitting position quick enough to yelp, "Saved the world?!"  
  
"Yes," the younger man answered. He sighed softly to himself and simply said, "I think we're gonna have a lot of explaining to do."  
  
"Y... yeah," Zack replied weakly, still in shock. "That sounds good. But... um..."  
  
"What is it?" asked the younger man innocently.  
  
"Could I get some clothes? Err, and something to eat would be nice, too." He looked rather sheepish, something that was even worsened as his stomach let out a low growl.  
  
"Oh, right. That would help, wouldn't it?" the younger man said with a hearty laugh. "You can call me Fitch, by the way," he added.  
  
"All right. I'm Zack," he responded, somewhat awkwardly.  
  
"Okay then, Zack. Let's take care of some things. Carter, could you get him some clothing?" he asked, looking over his shoulder again at the other man.  
  
Carter gave a strict nod and left the room. Fitch looked over at Zack again, reassuring his stomach by saying, "You'll get some food once you've got some clothes on ya'."

. . .

It seemed there was still some ounce of kindness in some people, even those that lived in the Slums. The two had been overly nice, giving him a rather big meal and some clean clothes, and even supplying some items for his travels and a pack to put them in. But more importantly than that, they had the patience to sit him down and tell them as much as they knew about the fight to save the world. 

More surprising than the fact that Cloud, little old spike-head, had been the leader of the group that was trying to prevent Meteor, was the fact that the one that had summoned it, that had brought about this entire mess, was his other best friend. 

Sephiroth. 

Yes, yes, Zack remembered, almost too clearly, how the Great Sephiroth had declined into insanity, how he had killed and killed and _killed_, how the fires wouldn't stop, the heat didn't fade, the cries of the wounded didn't cease. And he certainly remembered what followed that, Hojo's experimentation – correction, torture – and then how he had escaped with Cloud. It was all fresh in his mind, but that didn't mean that he had thought that Sephiroth was capable of raining destruction on the entire Planet. 

_Geez, Seph… _It was all he could think to himself as he wandered through the Slums, just trying to take a moment to get his thoughts together before he actually set about doing something with his life, something he had believed had ended long ago. _How did this all happen? Why? _With a soft sigh, he set down his pack, which even in its rather light weight, was quite the burden on his muscles that hadn't been exercised in far too long. He then crumbled to the floor, taking a short moment to rest. It was pathetic how weak he was, but he hadn't been expecting much more, even with his Mako. 

Even with all they had managed to tell him, he didn't feel like there was enough. He needed to know more of the intricate details, and the only way he'd be obtaining those was if he spoke one-on-one with one of the people that had been there, part of the group that had numbered nine, then… eight… 

_Aerith… _

He felt a burning sensation in his chest even at the thought of her. She had been so good to him, so kind, so sweet… and he had almost blown her off, too busy with everything else that was going on, training as a SOLDIER, going on missions, hanging out with Sephiroth, and with Cloud. Just being his normal hyper, over-enthusiastic self, and hardly a good boyfriend, or even a good friend. She had been to good for him, he hadn't deserved her… not someone as sweet as she was. Maybe that was why he had almost avoided her, because she was fit for someone better, not someone like him… 

And now she was dead, never to truly have someone that loved her. Of course, he had been there while the two telling him this entire story had speculated if she and Cloud had some sort of intimate relationship, but Zack doubted that. Cloud wouldn't have been in the right mental state then to get into a romantic situation, would he? Not Cloud… Cloud, who always thought that he was nothing, that no one wanted him, needed him.

_And then he ends up saving the world. Go figure. I bet he still thinks he's nothing. _He scoffed in annoyance at the thought, just because it was so true. For all the time he had known Cloud, all years they had spent together, Cloud had never thought he was ever worth anything. The result of a childhood where he had always been ignored, hated, even… and his own self-esteem level being pretty much down the drain.

Zack had done his upmost best to try and beat this sort of thinking out of him, to make him see how great of a person he was, how good of a friend, how wonderful, how… 

Now he was just get downright sappy. This was ridiculous. He bowed his head towards his chest and let out a soft, bitter chuckle. _I do believe I am smitten with you, Cloud Strife. And I don't even know if you remember me. _

Well, it did settle certain things. He definitely needed to find one of the group, and see if they knew where Cloud was. Zack wasn't sure if his feelings that had somehow escalated into almost uncontrollable would ever be satiated, but he at least needed to get some questions answered, mostly about how Cloud had taken all that had happened, and also to know what Sephiroth had been up to, the truth, not just the rumors of two people that lived in the Slums.

All he had were names, really. 

Tifa Lockheart. Well, he knew her… sort of. They hadn't had much time to talk when they were on that mission, that one, fated mission, but he at least knew who she was, what she looked like, and he was quite sure that she probably remembered him as well. 

But the others pulled up blanks, just names, no face to go with them. 

Barret Wallace, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Yuffie Kisaragi, Cid Highwind, Vincent Valentine.

It was enough to work with, though. And so with a deep intake of breath, he pushed himself up to his feet yet again, wincing slightly as his muscles ached in response to being pulled on, and then he bent down to grab his pack and sling it slowly over his right shoulder, wandering through the Slums yet again. 

If these people had in fact saved the world, it would make sense that even the common folk would know where they lived, what they were doing, right? Though when he had asked the two that had helped him of Cloud's whereabouts, they had let him know that he hadn't really been seen in quite a while, that most people weren't even sure if he was still… alive… 

_No, there's no way… I'm not even gonna think that… _

Cloud was just good at hiding himself away, making himself insignificant, unimportant. Not that Zack had ever liked that attribute of his, but it was true. He knew where people wouldn't find him, where people wouldn't look. All he wanted was for people not to bother him, to be left alone… Zack wasn't even sure if he could help him now, how badly he still thought of himself, if he had let it turn into something… a bit more extreme. 

_NonononoNO._

He needed to see him, to help him if he needed it, and to just be there if he didn't. Dammit, he just wanted to see him again, at least one more time. _We did it together, escaped Shin-Ra together, the only reason I was able to do it all… was to make sure he was okay… I thought I had died just to see him live on. _How could he not want to make sure that Cloud had at least turned out somewhat all right? And how could he not want to _make_ it all right if it wasn't? 

It was a justifiable excuse to see that face again, those soft, angelic features… that rebellious, Chocobo hair. _This is getting sad. _

Shin-Ra. He hadn't thought to ask of them. What had become of them? It was rather obvious now that sucking Mako out of the Planet, the Lifestream itself, was not a good thing, so had the company fallen once and for all, or were these oppressed people, the ones that were walking amongst him then and there, were they still ruled over by Shin-Ra? 

_It's worth being here again, just to hear that that damned corporation has finally gotten the kick in the ass that it needed… _

But most important was to find someone that could give him the location of one of those eight people, and so he started to pay more attention to those that were milling around through the dirty streets, some in rags, others a bit better off, but still just barely scraping by, just trying to find someone that seemed to have some bit of knowledge, when his answer came to him. 

In other words, he ran straight into Tifa Lockheart. 


	2. Embarkment

**Dreamer**

. . . 

**A/N:** I can't believe it! I actually spewed out a second chapter for this fic! It is insane… insane, I tell you. Seriously, I never finish anything I write independently unless it's a one-shot – in fact, I hardly ever get to the second chapter, so be proud, everyone! And it's longer than the first chapter, too, which is good. :D At some parts I really hate how I write Tifa and at other parts I really like it. XD; Strange. I must say, though, that she and Zack have more amusing conversations than I would have imagined. Anyways… enjoy? 

. . . 

**2:** Embarkment

. . .

Only years of training, a fighter's precision, was what kept her from falling to the ground thanks to the impact as she ran head-on into the stranger. After all, he was quite a deal taller than she was, with a strong enough build. Her dignity was saved, though, for she only stumbled back a little, had enough time to recover. She looked up at him, an annoyed impudence in her eyes; she was quite ready to tell him off then and there. But there was something, something in his brightly glowing eyes that seemed like a shocked recognition, and then she realized that he was familiar… far too familiar. 

_Like Cloud… he stands like Cloud… _

She took a harder look at him. That hair, how could she ever forget it? It had to be Zack, didn't it? Who else could have such midnight-black, long, spiked hair that so closely resembled a porcupine to the point that it was laughable? And his eyes, they were definitely Mako-infused. How could it be him, though? He was dead, Cloud had told her the gruesome story of how he was killed, bullet upon bullet rained upon him until there was no way he could have survived.

She continued to stare him down, like a predator ready to sink hungry jaws into her prey. Though it made more sense that she was the pursued, rather than the pursuer, for simply fear and confusion were swimming in her red-brown eyes. Neither of them seemed able to get any words out, and so eventually she was just forced to ask. "Zack…?"

. . .

How could she be forgotten? She was far too pretty for Zack to forget, not to mention that she was so… well-endowed. True, he had felt sort of bad about how closely he had watched her, back on that mission. After all, Cloud had told him, in the secret confinements of their inn room, about how she was the one that had caused him to want to join SOLDIER in the first place, about the mean things she had said, but yet how her sweet disposition had been infectious. 

Zack had actually accused Cloud of feeling something like love for her, but Cloud has always said that wasn't it; she was merely a friend. The only reason he had wanted to get close to her was because of the fact that she had been unreachable, untouchable. It had been a challenge, some form of a goal, to try and obtain her favor. 

But things didn't seem to be one-way, either. Cloud had hidden himself from her on that mission, refusing to remove his helmet whenever she was in her presence, and Zack had noticed the sorrow and concern painted clearly on her face – she was disappointed, because she had wanted to see Cloud, speak with him, possibly even be with him. Maybe it was the fact that he had decided to join Shin-Ra, that that had somehow turned him into something desirable, but either way, she had developed some sort of feelings for him while he had been gone. 

And Zack had tried to tell Cloud this, let him know that she was definitely feeling such things for him, but Cloud would never believe it, could never comprehend the fact that someone could like him in that manner. _I was right in front of your eyes, kid, and you never even noticed. Maybe I cover things up too well sometimes. Then again, I wasn't as obsessed with him as I am now, was I? _Things had been starting then, beginning, but they weren't as set in stone as they were now. He may have thought he was cute, smart, attractive, but he hadn't loved him then as he felt he did now. 

Even with all of these emotions raging inside, however, his expression was for the most part blank as he was questioned by the brunette, and he only gave a nod in response. She just stared at him a little longer, long enough to make him feel uneasy, almost. She managed to gain her voice long enough to utter out, "H-how…?"

Zack couldn't help but laugh at her bewilderment, though he could hardly blame her. He was supposed to be dead, after all. "Well, that's a hard question to answer… and it's definitely not something we should talk about here…" At that comment, Mako-eyes quickly darted around for any sign of people eavesdropping that shouldn't be, though most of the people close-by were just the regular occupants of the Slums, more worried about their own lives to care about anyone else's. "Do you have somewhere we could go…?" he questioned in a whisper. 

Knowing they had best get out of there as quickly as possible, she cut the small-talk, simply nodded and grabbed at his wrist, leading him down a few streets until they reached an apartment complex. "This is where I live," she explained as they walked in through the door and then headed for the stairs. "We'll be free to talk openly once we're up there, none of my neighbors really bother me," she assured him, and that worked well enough for him. 

Luckily she lived on the second floor so it wasn't long before they were safely inside the comforting atmosphere of her apartment room. It was no less than Zack had expected – a rather nice, quaint little place, and perfectly neat, everything in perfect order, not a single thing out of place. That seemed to fit her personality quite well, too. With the way she worried over things, she could almost be considered obsessive compulsive. Zack was sure it wasn't good for her health, the way she was constantly anxious about one thing or another. Mostly Cloud, he had gathered from the short time he had known her eight years ago. 

_It's been so long now… we were in that damned lab for five years, and then I was out for three. It's hard to believe, how much I've missed, how many years have been wasted. _At least now he could attempt to make up for them, and he was going to do his best to do so. Tifa turned to him after he had walked in and closed the door behind him. "Go ahead and sit down," she told him, pointing at a rather comfy-looking arm-chair. "I get the feeling this is going to take a while," she said with a sigh. 

"Yeah, me too," he responded half-heartedly, then walking over to the said arm-chair and seating himself. She paced into the kitchen, calling back to him as she did so. "Want anything to eat or drink?" she asked. 

His mouth watered as he quickly remembered his favorite beverage, one he hadn't had the pleasure to drink in so long. "Got any Coke?" 

. . .

"So, you're saying Cloud ended up thinking he was _me_?"

"Yeah…" Tifa responded somberly. It seemed that this wasn't something she really wished to discuss, even though she knew it was necessary. "I guess he just couldn't take it all… he had to gain some form of strength somehow and… Zack, well, to him, you pretty much embodied strength. At least, that's how it seems… the way he talked about you…"

He felt his stomach lurch in surprise and a strange sort of joy at her words; for one, he felt awful that Cloud had been through so much, that there had been so much that he hadn't been able to protect him from, but the way she put it, it sounded as if Cloud really did… like him. He wasn't going to go and think that it was anything more than friendship, wouldn't let his hopes peak up that high, but hey, he could dream a little. 

"Well, didn't you notice that he was acting differently?" he asked in a bit of worriment.

"Of course I did!" she exclaimed, not sure what Zack took her for. "None of his facts fit properly… he knew too much or too little. It didn't make sense, but… what was I supposed to do?" 

Zack closed his eyes for a minute, letting out a sigh himself now. "… you should have brought it up. You should have told him, said something…" 

"You don't get it! I couldn't have done that… I didn't know what was going on, I was so confused."

"It's not fair, Tifa."

"What?" She stared at him, ruby red eyes enlarged in surprise. The cold, calm, soothing air of his tone had caught her off-guard, and she felt her blood turn cold. 

"He was falling apart inside. That much is obvious. His town was burned, everyone was killed, he hadn't fulfilled his goal, he had to deal with seeing you, seeing you hurt, me hurt, and then Sephiroth going insane. After that, the five years we spent in that lab. You don't _know_ what we went through, Tifa. He was barely coherent, barely _alive_, even, when we got out… and then… then I got killed, too. Or at least, that's what he thought…" It seemed that was all he had to say about that. He died down, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, his elbow placed on his knee, and he went into a small bout of deep contemplation. 

There was silence for a long time, and all that Tifa could do was stare at him. In the short time she had known Zack, he had always seemed like such a happy and carefree sort of person, the one that never got mad or upset over anything, really. But now… now she had pretty much just been _attacked _by him. And his words hurt more than she would have thought. She exhaled rather loudly, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again, and then made an effort to reply. "…so what are you saying?" she choked. She wanted to say a lot more, but she couldn't just then. 

"I'm saying that if you had considered what he had been through, compared his pain to your pain… if you had just said something sooner rather than later, it would have helped him. Helped him heal, helped… just…" His ran both hands through his spiked hair and heaved another sigh. "Well, it's all in the past now."

She clasped her hands in her lap and made an effort to stare at them and nothing else. "Mm. I wasn't thinking. I didn't know. I had no idea why he was acting so strange and… maybe I was scared that he would fall apart, when I couldn't afford to have him do that, not when I was using him as my pillar of strength." 

Zack chuckled softly. "He's not exactly the greatest guy to use as your 'pillar of strength'. That kid was a mess…" 

"We should stop talking about him like he's dead." It was giving her the shivers, and she didn't like it. Granted, she didn't know where Cloud was now, but she wouldn't believe that he had died. Not until she had full, concrete proof. 

"Yeah… I just can't believe that I managed to survive this, and now he's nowhere to be found. And… Sephiroth. I mean, yeah, he did attack me and Cloud and you, but… I didn't think he'd ever try and take over the world, you know? We were… we were buddies." It was a lot for him to take in at once, which sort of explained his rather dampened personality. 

This conversation was progressively making Tifa feel more and more uncomfortable. These were things that, after they had defeated Sephiroth, she had decided she didn't want to dwell on. That may have just been running away from her fears, but she didn't have the strength to face them head-on as she may have done before. _I'm doing what Cloud would do… _she thought rather bitterly to herself. It was because he had done just that, run away from all of his problems, made himself forget, that he had ended up not even knowing who he was. 

But Zack was waiting for more information, and she was his only supplier, so… she'd have to face at least some of those fears right now. "He wasn't himself. I mean, you saw him go insane, right? You can hardly blame him, really. I mean, of course I hate him for everything he did to us, all the problems he caused, but I can see _why_ it is that he went insane. If you find out…"

"…that you were a monster created merely to please your 'father's' sick wishes?" Zack asked. "Yeah, I know, I know that it tore him apart. I saw him kill all those people. I understand all the justification he had for what he did, but when you knew someone before and then you hear of everything they did, that they tried to take over the _world_…" He lowered his head to the floor. "…It doesn't sink in easily."

Her ruby-brown eyes stared at him as she tried to think of some way to console the spiky-haired soldier. But really, she wasn't in the position when she could hardly keep herself together as it was. Ever since Cloud had gone missing she had been just trudging through life without much of an existence to speak of. She cared so dearly for him, had made him her responsibility to watch over, and now that she had failed, in a sense, there wasn't much left for her to do. And yes, maybe she had… loved him… but whether or not he had returned those feelings, well… she had been too scared to find out. It was such a big possibility for her, that he would reject her, be unable to deal with her when he was too busy with his own issues, and she'd rather never know, care for him from afar, then let him crush all of her feelings into pieces, dust sifting through his callused hands. 

"Oh, and Tifa?" Zack asked rather solemnly, lifting his head to look her straight in the face now, an action she wanted to flinch away from; those eyes… so much like Cloud's, it hurt. 

"Yes?" she responded softly, finding it hard to speak all of a sudden. She wanted to yell at herself in frustration. She always got like this when she started thinking of Cloud and it was beginning to annoy her. Did she have to be such a damsel in distress? Really. 

"…please don't hate him," he finished. "I mean, I know he was your rival all that time, and he may have done all of those things, but…" His eyes narrowed, as if in deep thought, nostalgia. "…I knew him before all of that, and I can tell you that he was a good person. If… the Sephiroth from then knew what he had been doing after he went insane, well… he would hate himself. I promise you. He never wanted to hurt any of those people. Yes, he was a trained killer from the start, a general who was used to mass killing, but that doesn't mean he'd murder innocent people ruthlessly. Nor would he want to hurt you or Cloud or…" He stopped himself since he was going nowhere and began to just nibble on his lower lip in contemplation.  

"I'm sorry…" she sighed, flipping some of her strands back with a hand absent-mindedly. "I don't really hold any sort of resentment for him now that things are taken care of. I mean, yes… he did kill my father and… gave me a lovely scar…" she smiled ruefully as she fingered her abdomen where the masamune had sliced across years ago, "…but all of that doesn't really matter now. It's like…" she lifted up a hand and stared at it with curiosity, "…I don't feel anything anymore. Nothing hurts, it's all numb." She laughed somewhat morbidly. 

"Hey," Zack said, sternness apparent in his tone. "That sounds way too much like someone else we know." 

She nodded. "I know… but I can't help it. The only time I ever feel anything is when I think about him…" she said dreamily, a far-off look in her eyes. 

Zack blinked in confusion. "You mean…?"

She closed her eyes in defeat. "…yes, I… I think I'm in love with him, Zack." 

_Then we're in the same boat, m'dear._ He rubbed his eyes with one hand out of exasperation with the mess they were in, since he was sure this would cause problems later on down the road. "And what about him? How does he feel?"

"I don't know," she admitted, shaking her head. "I never knew how to approach him about it, and I didn't want to know what the answer would be. It was all or nothing, and it wasn't a bet I was willing to place." 

"That makes sense. But if you really want it to become something, you're going to have to say something." Which reminded him. Though he had somehow determined he was head-over-heels for the kid, he had no idea how he was going to let him know. Cloud wasn't necessarily easy to talk to, especially when discussing affairs of the heart. His coldness was muffling and his words were jagged; they could be, anyways. _And then he could say the sort of stuff that makes your heart melt…_

_Wow. That was waaaaaay too sappy. Quit it, Zack. _

Tifa groaned in frustration. "But that's the thing! I'd rather love him and be without him than have him know of my feelings and be crushed into the ground because he rejected me. It makes no sense, to love someone and be happy with that even if it's one-sided, but I don't know what else to do. Maybe…" she mused, "…maybe I'll get over it eventually." 

Zack considered that this might happen with him as well, but he had never been the patient kind, and just waiting for his affection to wear off was not his idea of fun. Better to go for it, especially if there was a chance that you would get what you wanted. Extreme happiness or a shot in the kidneys. 

"Well," he grinned, jumping to his feet almost enthusiastically, "What's the point of thinking about all of this when he isn't even around? I'm going to look for him," he proclaimed. 

She blinked at him in disbelief. "Zack. I told you I looked everywhere."

"No harm in looking twice," he responded, winking at her.

She shook her head in dismay. "You're not going to find him," she warned him. "So don't get your hopes up, all right? I made that mistake." 

"There's no telling what you'll find if you just know where to look," he countered, brushing himself off. "But… I think I need a shower and some more clothing and food to take along with me. Not to mention Gil…" He shot her a pleading glance. 

Her scarlet eyes were closed in aggravation. "You know, I should really downright refuse to help you with this at all since I know it's all going to be for nothing, but…" she grumbled incoherently, "I _suppose _there's a chance. You can shower and use what clothing you have for now, and we'll head out to get everything else you need tomorrow. There's not much reason to rush, after all. Is that satisfactory?" she quaked, shooting daggers in his direction. 

"Perfectly fine," he returned with a nod. When she gave that sort of look, kind of an evil eye sort of thing, there was no way to oppose her. "Shower?" 

. . .

Zack stepped out of the now-steamy bathroom, filled up with the wet warmth by the overly hot water he insisted on showering in. He had a towel flopped haphazardly over his unruly hair, had stepped back into the clothes he had been in previously merely because Tifa had not a thing he could even consider wearing. Really. She was almost a foot shorter than he was (well, maybe half a foot) and much smaller in stature. It wasn't like she dragged boys to her apartment and stole their clothing, even though Zack was sure she could do so if she was so inclined. After all, she did have a pair of knockers on her…

But that wasn't the point, now was it? Of course not. Dismissing his naughty thoughts, he headed down the hall and back into the living room where Tifa was seated comfortably on the couch, sipping at a cup of tea and watching the television with only half of her attention. As he entered the room, she glanced back and gave him a half-smile. "Feeling better? It must feel strange to move around after being in a coma for so long…" She fell into her thoughts, wondering what it must have felt like; Cloud had been through something similar when he had been through his Mako poisoning, after all, stationary for much too long for her taste. But she had helped him in the end, helped him to find himself. And find Zack as well, remember his dearest friend. 

After all, Zack was the only person she had ever heard Cloud refer to as a friend. They must have been close, right? She examined the dark-haired soldier closely. There must have been many things he knew about Cloud that she didn't, secrets Cloud had never cared to tell her. She was tempted to even ask him about such things, but it really wasn't her place. It was true that she and Cloud had known each other since they were children, but they hadn't always been close. She had been downright _cruel_ to him, had crushed him on more than one occasion, and she regretted such actions to this day. _How did I never realize just how special you were, Cloud? You were right in front of me, after all…_

"Uh, yeah, the hot water really loosened up my muscles. I don't think I'll be getting much for sleep tonight, though," he remarked, staring out the window into the sky that had now turned to night, moon hanging in its lonely little way. "I've done enough of that to last me a lifetime, practically," he grumbled rather bitterly, then pulling his towel from his head after he had run it through said strands of raven enough, handing the cloth to Tifa, who took it and placed it with the dirty laundry. 

Coming back from the menial chore, she nodded. "That's fine, you can watch TV and there's food in the fridge… I'll probably be going off to sleep soon, though," she said, yawning softly as if to prove her point. "And we'll be going bright and early to get all of your things, so be ready for that, all right?"

"Sure. You can count on me," he grinned, pointing a finger at his chest triumphantly. As she paced barefoot off to her room, Zack headed for the fridge she had mentioned and pulled out his second Coke of the day. After all, it had been _years_ since he had tasted the sweet honey of his favorite drink, and he had to make up for all of that lost time, right? It was a good thing she had a good supply of the stuff. Popping it open, he returned to the couch the busty brunette had just been lounging on to watch TV and think things over, distant thoughts for times long gone. 

. . .

"I told you to be ready!"

"Sorry, sorry, I'm not used to this whole wake-up-early-and-leave-quickly thing! It's been a while since I've woken up, _period_." So much for staying up all night. Zack had fallen asleep around five in the morning, only to be woken up at six thirty sharp. Not fun. A piece of toast clamped between his teeth, he raced down the one stairwell from the second floor to the ground floor, following after the rather scary woman. 

"I thought you weren't going to sleep!"

"Well, I did! Cut me some slack, will ya'? Why are you in such a rush, anyways?" He finished the piece of toast in one swallow, realizing it would be rather hard to talk otherwise.

She stopped, now that they had gotten to the bottom of the stairs, and flipped around quickly to face him, her long pony-tail almost smacking him in the face. "_Because_… I…" She sighed, bowing her head to the floor. "I want you to leave quickly; I want you to… find him, Zack." She lifted her head to stare at him, a pleading look in her eyes. 

His somewhat flustered features softened and he nodded a ghost of a smile on his face. "All right, Tifa. I understand. I'm going to try my best, all right?" He grasped her hands with his own, squeezing them tightly to let her know that he meant what he said. "If I can help it, I won't be coming back here empty-handed. And I will come back, no matter what. If just to let you know that I couldn't find him." His Mako-tinted eyes bore into her. "Okay?"

She nodded, a bit overwhelmed by his intensity. "Y…yeah… thanks, Zack." 

_She may not act like it, but she's hurting. I hope I can help you, Tifa… but does that mean I'll have to give him up?_ He mentally sighed, this all being too much to worry over for a brain that hadn't been put to much use for a few years. Holding his forehead with one of his hands that had by now removed themselves from their strong grasp, he stepped down the last couple of stairs and followed her out of the building. "Don't mention it." 

. . . 

After a visit to a random clothing store (it didn't really matter where they went, as long as they got some clothing for him) and a supermarket, they were back at Tifa's apartment by mid-afternoon. The brunette was willing to give up one of her bags so he could stuff some things into it, including said clothing and some basic snacks, along with a bit of Gil, and it wasn't long before Zack was quite ready to depart. 

Shouldering the bag, he grinned at his newfound friend and thanked her immensely before gathering up a somewhat awkward goodbye. It was odd, after all, to be leaving so swiftly, but they both knew that this was in their best interests, that both of them wanted more than anything to see those bright blue eyes again, even if they were tinged with Mako, just as Zack's still were. Although, it wasn't _really_ goodbye since Zack made sure Tifa knew that he would be back, with Cloud or without him, and so it was predetermined that they would meet again. 

As he walked down the hallway, preparing himself for a long period of travel, Tifa burst out of the door and chased after him, yelling, "Stop!" rather loudly and most likely disturbing some of the other tenants. 

Blinking, he spun around to face the frantic woman, wondering if he had forgotten something or if she had suddenly had a weird change of heart. 

She was panting by the time she reached him, but she quickly pushed her swiftness of breath away to spout out her question. "How do you plan to get around?"

He shrugged. "Trains, walking, hitchhiking if I have to. I'll manage."

A smile splayed across her features. "I have a much, _much_ better idea. I can't believe I didn't think of this before!" She dug into her jeans pocket and when her hand was pulled out it was holding a jingling set of keys. "Follow me." And with that, she was pacing down the hallway, strides strong and determined, as if she was walking with purpose, which Zack supposed she was. 

He had to admit to himself that he was a bit fearful of what she had in mind, but he had no other choice than to follow her. She made her way down the stairs, even below the ground level – down to the underground garage. She explained as they walked along. "This is where everyone parks their cars and whatnot; there's a ramp at the other end that leads up to the streets, so it's not difficult to get in or out or anything." 

Zack was still failing to grasp the situation. Garage? Keys? What was she planning to give him? 

Grinning as she reached her final destination, she halted and turned around to face him. "I may not be able to give you my car, but I also happen to have…" She scooted out of the way a tad to reveal to the black-haired man a rather impressive, well-polished motorcycle.

Zack faltered, mouth gaping open as he stared for a few seconds. "You mean…?"

"Yep!" She winked at him. "I figured you'd know how to ride one, if Cloud did…"

"Are you kidding? I taught him everything he knows, dear."

"Well, perfect." She fiddled with her keys until she pulled off the one designated for the bike, then handing it to him gingerly. "It's yours for now, but if it has one _scratch_ on it, Zack…" 

"I know, I know," he said, pulling his hands up defensively in case she wanted to demonstrate what she would do if he hurt her baby. "Frankly, Tifa, I would have never guessed you were the biker type." 

"Are you kidding? You obviously don't know enough about me, _dear_," she retorted, playing on that name he had used for her earlier. "This is the girl that got into a slapping match with Scarlet." 

He blinked. "Scarlet? Whore-in-the-red-dress Scarlet?"

"The very same. Now," she continued, kneeling down next to the bike to unlatch the helmet. She stood up and handed it to him. "You're gonna need that, because I really don't want to find out that you fell and splattered your brains on the highway… and…" She scanned over the vehicle for a moment. "That should be it." 

Zack shook his head in disbelief. "I don't fall, Tifa."

"I don't _care_, Zack. I can't make you wear it, but… it is certainly not my fault if you end up in another coma, all right?" She gave him a crooked smile.

"Okay, okay, keep yer shirt on." 

"Well, I guess that's it, then." She put her hands on her hips and examined him for a moment, as he had decided to comply and put on the helmet, though he would most likely not be doing so the next time he rode, when he didn't have those watchful crimson-brown eyes on him. "You look pretty good with that, I must say." 

"I happen to like my hair flipping in the wind when I ride, but that's just me." 

"It's really a matter if whether you want to look sexy or be safe."

He flashed a quick grin. "Which do you think I'd choose?"

She smacked her forehead with one palm. "And I thought Cloud was stupid… riding through a glass window on a motorcycle, _really_…"

Zack blinked. "That sounds like fun, actually."

"Oh, please. I'm leaving before I have to be subjected to more of your stupidity." 

Peals of laughter cut through the air as the porcupine chuckled. "You know, Tifa, you're a lot cooler than I thought. You seemed so uptight on the mission at Nibelheim." 

She shrugged. "I was trying to make a good impression. I mean, I was giving a tour to the Great Sephiroth." 

"I catch your drift. Well, hope to see you soon, hm?"

"Yeah…"

"Ah, cheer up, Tif." 

"Don't call me that."

"Tif, Tif, Tif!"

"Zachary, Zachary, Zachary!"

"Oh, you _so_ aren't going there."

"Oh, I _so_ am."

"You know what? I'm just going to leave. Right. Now."

"Well, good. Zachary." 

"Not listening! Not listening! Lalalalalala!" After that, the roar of the engine drowned out anything Tifa may have been yelling at him. He glanced back at her, just to grin deviously before speeding off to find the ramp she had mentioned earlier. And so he was on his way.

And Tifa was left to wonder if she'd really ever see him again. 


	3. Discovery

**Dreamer**

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A/N: **Holy smokes, the fic lives. I always feel guilty leaving old fics unfinished, so I felt obligated to continue. Not to say that I didn't enjoy writing it. (For anyone that reads my other stuff, I plan to work on Ambition as well!) I have to thank my friend Katie for being my beta. The length got cut a little shorter than the second chapter, but it had to end at the proper part. Anyways, other than that, just enjoy!

**

* * *

3: **Discovery

* * *

It had been two weeks since he had left. Zack figured the best way to go about locating his old friend was to go everywhere—and he meant_ everywhere_. His journey proved to be slow and boring as he visited every town he could think of (even the smaller ones that didn't even merit a dot and label on a regular map). 

He started at Kalm, moved to the Chocobo ranch, across the marsh and through the cave, investigating every part of every town, looking for hidden, secret areas that a person could go and stay without being bothered. Those are the types of places Cloud would be. Every last person was questioned as well, but not a single one had seen Cloud Strife.

"Are you okay?"

The jarring voice caused him to jump up slightly from the wooden table he was seated at before he settled back down, rubbing at his mug of Coke and regarding the man who had questioned him carefully. The man in question looked old and withered, weighed down by the burdens the world had laid upon him.

Zack had heard some news about Fort Condor, their constant struggles against Shin-Ra—_and I used to worship the company as if it could do no wrong, when it seems that was the only thing it was actually capable of_—and felt a bit of pity for the man.

"Yeah, I'm all right," he mumbled in something that was almost monotone as he scratched the back of his neck and then took a few sips of his drink.

"You said you were his friend, right?" the old man wheezed, settling himself across from Zack and regarding him with wrinkled eyes surrounded by crow's feet.

Zack gave a slight nod, lowering his head to examine the pattern on the table. "Yeah, from a long time ago, before… all of this happened." He still wasn't quite over the fact that Cloud, the scared little Private, was now savior of the entire Planet. He'd definitely have to tease him about that once he found him. (And he _would_ find him.)

"Well, son, I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that I hope you find him. We were never able to give him proper thanks for all he did for us." The man almost looked guilty, eyes somewhat far-off, and Zack knew he was remembering the little time he had spent with Cloud Strife.

_He seems to do that to people… when they start thinking of him, they get this look in their eyes…_

"Nah, don't say that," he said with a small smirk. "The last thing Cloud wants is a ton of people thanking him. He'd just think he didn't deserve it." He stood up, downing the last bits of the glass and then setting it down. "Well, I hope I find him, too. I really do." He walked off before the other could answer, intending to make good use of the bed they were providing him (for free, no less!).

* * *

The next morning set him on the road again, blazing across grassy fields on his motorcycle and avoiding whatever random monster might decide it was a good idea to try and pick on him. Luckily, it seemed the semi-reformed Shin-Ra government ('semi-reformed' because Zack knew better than anyone that Shin-Ra couldn't exist without some level of corruption) was doing something constructive with its military by having them keep the monster level under control. 

After working his way through Junon, which involved glares from the under townsfolk who thought he looked too much like a SOLDIER for this own good (which he did) and some higher Shin-Ra class giving him a rough time, he managed to scour the entire place, knowing it well enough from his own Shin-Ra days, and determined that Cloud was most certainly absent from the entire city.

His doctrine in this little expedition of his was to keep moving forward until he found or heard something, so the logical next step was to take a ship ride to the western continent and Costa Del Sol. It seemed like a good deal to him—he was a fan of that sunny paradise and the beautiful people it seemed to have an abundance of. Luckily, he did not get motion sickness as his friend did, so the ride over wouldn't be a nightmare, either.

After paying his fare and getting situated on the ship (getting them to get his motorcycle on board was a bit of a drama), he killed time by wandering around for some time, conversing with the other passengers, and then catching up on sleep. Long distance traveling would tire out just about anyone and he wanted to be well-rested so he wouldn't have to make too many long stops at towns along the way. A loud whistle bellowing from the ship was the only thing to wake him up as they docked.

Rolling out of the hammock he'd chosen for a bed, he yawned, gathered his things (stuffed into a small shoulder-bag for the tits and tats he'd deemed necessary for the journey), went through a similar drama to get his motorcycle _off_ the damn ship, and then found himself in the infamous vacation city.

After locking up his bike somewhere safe, he took to exploring the city and made sure to reserve a room at the inn since he knew it would be idealistic to think he'd be done searching quickly enough that he could leave the town the same day. (He also figured if there was any good place to hang around in, this was the one.)

His searching took him to the deepest crevices of every town he passed through and this one was no exception. He looked through back alleys and asked around the town about any hideaways in the area that wouldn't be obvious to someone not familiar with the city. This, of course, meant he ended up in the shadiest parts and underbellies of every town he visited, which was bound to get him into trouble at some point. It just happened that this was his first encounter with such trouble.

While working his way down one of the grittiest back alleys in the place, with all of its questionable substances littering the ground that had long ago lost the yellow sun-kissed color that most of the other roads in Costa del Sol sported, he was jumped.

'Jumped' meaning that someone snuck up on him from behind and pounced at him in order to do what he would assume could be a multitude of things. Going by the most probable reasons, it was either some desperate slime of a person that hadn't gotten sex in far too long or someone hoping to filch some Gil or valuables. If he was lucky, it would be the latter. Life certainly wasn't good when one had to pick between being sexually assaulted and being robbed.

Luckily for him, he had some ingrained SOLDIER instincts that had been rammed into his head far too often by his old combat instructor years ago, meaning that he knew how to react to something like this. The first thing he did was grab the closest body part of the perpetrator, which happened to be his or her shoulder (he wasn't aware of their gender yet). Using his good grip on said shoulder, he wrenched his arm forward to swing the stranger around and to the floor in front of him before any harm could be done to him.

Praising himself for not getting rusty and clapping his hands together to clean them off of whatever scum had tried to get the best of him, he eventually took a look at the person he had thrown onto the dirty ground.

A girl. Interesting. She was short, too. Not really his type (nor did she look very scummy), but he had to feel sort of egotistical about the fact that he had been jumped by a _female_. He couldn't help the smirk that took over his facial features. He scratched his chin as he watched her angrily yank herself to her feet.

"Dammit! I always have to pick the ones that fight back," she complained.

He raised an eyebrow. "Um…"

"Do you even _have_ any Materia?" Without warning, she paced over to him and began searching him rather shamelessly.

He gently pushed her away. "I appreciate the invasion of privacy, but I can't say I have any Materia on me. Sorry to disappoint you." He winked.

She responded with an exaggerated huff, crossing her arms over a green sleeveless top. She looked like she was about to say something insulting, until she took a closer look and leaned forward and stood on her tip-toes, squinting to get a proper look at his face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You—who are you?"

He raised an eyebrow. He wasn't quite sure why she was suddenly interested in him, but he didn't see her as any sort of threat and therefore had no qualms about answering her question. "Name's Zack, though I don't think that's telling you much."

She startled. "I thought so!"

He canted his head to the side, not sure what to say.

The girl deflated a little after that. "But you're supposed to be _dead_."

His eyes widened. This wasn't just some random stranger. He took a step towards her, grabbing her wrist firmly but not painfully. He jerked her forward slightly, staring into her eyes seriously. "Who are _you_?" he barked, almost sounding accusatory.

She wrenched her wrist away and brushed herself off. "Yuffie Kisaragi," she boasted.

"A member of AVALANCHE," he stated. "You traveled with Cloud."

She pressed hard into his chest with one knowing finger. "And you're his best friend who he was nuts enough to think he was."

"But I'm supposed to be dead," he mimicked with a small smirk. "Well, I'm not."

Yuffie grumbled. He was being vague and she didn't have the patience for it. "How about an explanation? Otherwise I might have to dub you a ghost and practice some ancient Wutaian magic to send you to the other plain," she warned him.

"To be brief, I didn't die. I was found by some people, but I was in a coma. I just recently snapped out of it and now I'm searching for—guess who?" He smirked. Guessing games were always fun and he was enjoying lightly annoying her.

"Cloud." It wasn't like that was hard to figure out. She took a quick look around. "Well, let's get out of this alley and find somewhere else to talk, okay?" Without waiting for his affirmative, she started off into the expanse of the town and headed for the bar.

Zack had no choice but to follow, though he wasn't sure what the girl was thinking going into a bar. He didn't think she could have been over the legal drinking age and he vaguely remembered Tifa telling him that she had been the youngest of the group when she had been telling him about all of AVALANCHE. It didn't matter too much where they spoke, though, so long as they had at least a short discussion. It was true that he was short on time, but he had been lucky enough to run into her (or almost get mugged by her, same difference) and he was going to milk the opportunity.

He stepped into the bar that she had entered quite a while before him, overwhelmed by the sudden shift of temperature, from a sizzling heat to an air conditioned room. However, there was also the heavy set scent of too much alcohol, tinged with a bit of vomit that he suspected was coming from one of the corners, and the placed radiated with the aura of bad feelings. He glanced around, caught a few probing mean glances by accident, and kept his face to the floor after that. It wasn't like he hadn't been in places like this before—after all, this was where you went when you wanted a good lay (though there weren't too many attractive people in this particular place, other than the serving girl)—but that didn't mean that he didn't get jittery when in some of the grittier places.

Eventually he got to the table where the ninja girl had situated herself. She was sprawled in her chair comfortably, but her shuriken was resting right next to her—this place didn't have any rules against weapon possession; after all, a person needed some form of self defense—and her eyes darted across the room from time to time, searching for trouble. Despite her age (which Zack had been spending some time trying to guess), she was experienced—he supposed that was understandable, considering she had been one of the few that had assisted in the world's rescue mission.

Stretching and taking one last look over his shoulder, he sat down across from her, doing his best to be at ease. He leaned forward a little, speaking in the low tone everyone used in a place like this. No one wanted to be overheard, even though most of the customers were too shit-faced to take any notice. "Why here?" he hissed.

She shrugged. "Where else? We'd have to pay for a room at the inn, and the beach is too out in the open for this kind of talk."

Oh, that explained it. She didn't want to spend any money. What a classic thief. He rolled his eyes, but let it go. It was a moot point since he'd bought out a room already, but he let it slide because she was right about one thing—they didn't want anyone in the surrounding area knowing about their topic of discussion, and this was the best place to be discreet, even with its inhospitable nature. "All right, all right," he grumbled, waving her off. He wanted the information, and she was the one with the answers, so it had to be under her terms.

"Do you know where he might be?"

She smiled a little, but it was a cynical one—almost a smirk. "Are you serious? No one has a clue where that nutcase went off to, not even Tifa."

"I ran into Tifa, actually." It was about time he mentioned that. "She was the first person I met after… waking up." It was still weird to talk about that; all of this was still weird, for that matter.

She placed one elbow on the table, arched her palm flat up, and rested her chin on it. "I see. Did she send you on this wild goose chase, then?"

He shook his head. "No, actually. I did this because I wanted to. She tried to stop me at first, saying there was no chance I'd find him."

She nodded and then shifted to lean back in her chair. The girl obviously couldn't sit still. Zack was just glad he hadn't known her when she was younger; she probably would have been even more fidgety and hyper then. The way Tifa had mentioned her, he got the feeling that was pretty accurate. "She's probably right, you know."

"I don't think so." He didn't entirely appreciate every single person giving him such a pessimistic response. He realized that these people had been searching for him for far too long without coming up with anything, but the fact was…

"I think I'll be the one person that can figure out where he went."

Yuffie looked rather skeptical. "And why's that?"

He smiled calmly. "I'm his best friend. I know things about him that no one else knows."

She twisted her mouth childishly. "How about Tifa? She was his childhood friend."

It was mean, but he said it anyway: "She doesn't know him as well as she thinks she does."

She looked a little bristled, as if she had personally been offended by the comment. "Are you sure you have the authority to say something like that? They were always close, in a strange sort of way, and it's so obvious how much she cares…"

"I'm his _best friend_," he reiterated. "She didn't care about him when they were younger. Hell, they barely knew each other. I supported that kid from the first time I met him—and if it wasn't for me…" He stopped himself. He was getting carried away and the girl hadn't meant any harm. She only spoke from what she had seen and observed, which wasn't the whole picture. He sighed deeply. "Look, it's just…" He paused, staring off for a second. "Is there any way you could help me out?"

A little shocked by his mild outburst, Yuffie did her best to recover. The only reason she didn't snap back at him was because she realized his sincerity. "I don't think there's much I can do, but…" She trailed off, wracking her brain. "Well, the only think I might be able to do is let you know where the rest of the living"—she paused with a wince after that word—"AVALANCHE members are. That way you can find them and see if they have anything to say."

It seemed to be an interesting proposal. "Hmm," he mused. "Is there any chance they might know more than you?"

"It's possible. We don't see each other _too_ often anymore, so one of them might have caught wind of something I didn't. It's worth a try, right? It's not like you have any other leads…"

"No, I really don't. All right then, that sounds like a plan." He gave her a genuine smile. "Thanks for your help."

"Just promise me one thing," she said with her token devious grin.

"What's that?"

"If you do find that idiot Chocobo-head, drag him my way so I can slap some sense into him." Her grin grew wider.

He barked laughter. "All right, that's fair."

"Just disappearing on us like that…" She heaved a sigh. "_Honestly_."

"Sometimes, I think he doesn't realize how much people worry about him. He has no sense of what other people think of him." He glanced over, dragged away from the reality of a conversation as he thought over his conjecture.

"Anyways," Yuffie concluded, suddenly standing from her seat and grabbing hold of her shuriken. "This is going to require a pen and paper. There are a lot of people you have to know about and a lot of towns they might be in, and I doubt you'll remember them all."

"I wouldn't trust my memory, either." Not with something this important, anyways. "To the inn, then?"

She growled. "Unfortunately." She trudged away from the table on her way to the door.

He gave her a friendly pat on the back. "No worries, I already have a room."

She shot daggers at him. "Why didn't you say that _before_?"

He shrugged and she refrained from hitting him.

* * *

A few minutes later found the strange pair in the empty room. Zack was taking the chance to lay on the bed, arms resting behind his head. Yuffie was situated at the table, where she had discovered a convenient pad of paper and a pen. She was busy scrawling on it and the SOLDIER started to rest his eyes. 

"Don't fall asleep," she ordered without even looking up.

He blinked, creaking one eye open. She had good senses, though he supposed he should have expected that, since she claimed to be some sort of ninja. Those Wutaians had strange customs—that was for sure. He was suddenly reminded of how he had murdered quite a few of them in the Great War and quickly made sure not to mention it. He felt sort of guilty, but he didn't want her to hate him for doing something he'd been mostly forced into. All the SOLDIERs had been drafted to go, so he hadn't had much choice. It was better left unmentioned.

"There!" she announced, seeming rather proud of herself as she stood. She extended the paper away from her at arm's length and examined it for any possible mistakes, and once she deemed it acceptable, walked over to the bed and flung it at him.

He picked it up from where it had landed on the bed sheets and glanced it over carefully.

"Barret Wallace, Cid Highwind, Red XIII… hmm…" Now these names were starting to sound familiar. He attempted to equate Tifa's brief descriptions with the names, but not all of them were fitting together properly. It didn't matter too much, since he'd eventually be meeting all of them, anyways, and he knew all of the towns that they were apparently residing in.

"That's us, a group of ragtag heroes," she said with a sigh. "Some of them are pretty annoying, so be prepared."

He smiled knowingly. "Isn't that a somewhat biased opinion?"

She returned the smile. "Maybe."

"In any case, thanks a lot." He scratched the back of his head.

"No problem. I've gotta run now, though. I've got people to take advantage of." She winked, earned a laugh from Zack, and then skipped out of the room.

* * *

The next day brought about a sun that was _far_ too bright (penetrating the window of Zack's temporary room and waking him up _far_ too early) and _far_ too hot, which was something he realized once he dragged himself out of bed, got dressed and washed up, and headed outside. 

It couldn't be too far into the day and yet the ground was already hot enough that an egg could be boiled on his surface. Costa del Sol may have been a great place to find someone cute to fancy, but the weather got a little too extreme for him at times. It got hot in Gongaga sometimes, but not _this_ hot.

After relocating his motorcycle and achieving his bearings, he mounted the vehicle (refraining from putting on the helmet in a streak of rebellious action) and dragged the note out of his pocket.

_All right, where to first?_ His mind quickly calculated the closest location—after traveling the world while in SOLDIER, it wasn't that hard for him to figure out. _Looks like its Corel, where I'll run into some Barret Wallace. _

He knew that this was something of a hopeless mission in many aspects; he knew that there was a good chance that he might come back empty-handed, as much as he tried to reject the idea; he knew that walking around talking to Cloud's old buddies might get him nowhere.

Still, he had to try, didn't he?

He was alive, he existed, and what else could he spend his time doing?

It was something necessary somehow. He didn't feel like he had to explain it to himself or anyone else.

He freed the bike's kickstand and started it up. Regardless of any discouraging thoughts, a nice long ride would be more than enough to cheer him up.

Grinning, he drove off into more green plain.


End file.
